Nationally, one in four renters (26.1 percent) are severely burdened by their rent and utility costs. Another 26.2 percent spent 30 to 50 percent of their income to have a home.

“In the last decade, rental housing affordability problems went through the roof,” said Eric S. Belsky, Managing Director of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies and an author of the study. “And these affordability problems are marching up the income scale. In real terms, it means more people have less money to spend on household necessities such as food, health care, and savings.”

What’s worse, rental supply is shrinking while rents are increasing. The study’s authors say that the government must find ways to help renters by investing in existing and new rental housing while keeping prices affordable.

“Rental housing policies can also be an important component of broader anti-poverty efforts and can help to revitalize communities hit hard by the foreclosure crisis,” said Belsky. “The current budget reality adds even greater pressure to do more with less to address these needs.”

The subject of the rental market was addressed today in Washington D.C. at “America’s Rental Housing: Meeting Challenges, Building on Opportunities,” where a panel of housing experts discussed the issue.

“The bottom line is there are a number of ways to address the housing crunch and alleviate the economic burden on renters,” said Julia Stasch, Vice President, U.S. Programs the MacArthur Foundation, which provided principal support for the report.

“The important thing is to start an honest and open dialogue, to give this issue the attention it deserves.”